Dequartavous "Tae" Crowder (born March 12, 1997) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. He was drafted by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

with the final pick in the

2020 NFL Draft The 2020 NFL Draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The d ...

, making him that draft's

Mr. Irrelevant Mr. Irrelevant is the nickname given to the last pick of the annual National Football League Draft. Although NFL drafts date back to 1936, the first person to be called Mr. Irrelevant was Kelvin Kirk of the 1976 NFL Draft. History "Mr. Irrelev ...

College career

Crowder redshirted his freshman season at Georgia in 2015. He switched to inside linebacker from running back in 2016. Crowder performed an important special teams role in 2017, helping the Bulldogs reach the national championship game before falling to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

. Between 2018 and 2019 Crowder recorded 48 tackles including 4.5 for a loss. He was one of the 12 finalists for the

Butkus Award The Butkus Award, instituted in 1985 by the Downtown Athletic Club of Orlando, is given annually to the top linebackers at the high school, collegiate and professional levels of football. The award, named in honor of College Football Hall of Fame ...

. Crowder made a career-high 12 tackles in a loss to

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. In his career, Crowder produced 115 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, five passes defensed, and 1.5 sacks.

Professional career

New York Giants

2020

Crowder was selected by the

with the 255th and final pick of the

, thus becoming

of the 2020 season. He was reunited with his former inside linebackers coach at Georgia

Kevin Sherrer Kevin Sherrer (born March 19, 1973) is an American football coach and former player. He most recently was the linebackers coach for the New York Giants.Spenser Davis,Report: Jeremy Pruitt to Hire Georgia Assistant Kevin Sherrer as Defensive ...

when he was drafted by the Giants. Crowder was placed on the active/

non-football injury list Non-football injury and non-football illness (NFI) are roster designations used in the National Football League (NFL) for players who are unable to practice as a result of conditions unrelated to football, or injuries that did not occur during NFL g ...

by the Giants at the start of training camp on July 28, 2020. He was activated on August 9. Crowder was inactive for week 1 due to a hamstring injury. In Week 6 against the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) E ...

, Crowder recovered a fumble forced by teammate

Kyler Fackrell Kyler Bruce Fackrell (born November 25, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker who is a free agent. He played high school football at Mesa High School in Mesa, Arizona before attending Utah State and playing for their football team on ...

Kyle Allen Kyle Allen (born March 8, 1996) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). A native of Scottsdale, Arizona, he played high school football at Desert Mountain and was among the top football ...

and returned it for a 43 yard touchdown during the 20–19 win. Crowder was placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury on October 20, 2020. He was activated on November 28, 2020. In Week 13 against the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

, Crowder recorded his first career sack on

Russell Wilson Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He previously played his first 10 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks. Wilson is widely regarded ...

during the 17–12 win.

2021

In Week 12, against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

, Crowder recorded his first interception on

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played his first three seasons of college football at Alabama, where he was part of the team t ...

during the 13–7 victory. Crowder ended the season with a career-high 130 tackles and led the team in tackles; he also recorded 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble.

2022

After the release of

Blake Martinez Blake Edmon Martinez (born January 9, 1994) is an American former professional football inside linebacker. He attended Canyon del Oro High School in Oro Valley, Arizona before attending Stanford University on a scholarship. At Stanford, he was a ...

one week before the season started; Crowder was left as the best option at LB in the depth chart. In the season opener against the

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their h ...

, Crowder recorded 7 tackles one of them being a big hit on running back

Derrick Henry Derrick Lamar Henry Jr. (born January 4, 1994) is an American football running back for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). His imposing rushing game and larger stature than the average running back earned him the nickna ...

. In Week 10 against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

the Giants decided to bench Crowder and move

Jaylon Smith Jaylon Smith (born June 14, 1995) is an American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame and was drafted 34th overall by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round ...

to inside linebacker and moved

Micah McFadden Micah McFadden (born January 3, 2000) is an American football linebacker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Indiana Hoosiers football, Indiana. High school career McFadden played at Plan ...

to outside linebacker. On December 20, 2022, he was waived. He started the first eight games of the 2022 season and departed the main roster with 43 tackles, 1 sack, and one forced fumble. He was re-signed to the practice squad two days later.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On December 27, 2022, Crowder was signed by the

to their active roster.

Career statistics

References

External links

New York Giants bioGeorgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowder, Tae 1997 births African-American players of American football American football linebackers Living people People from Harris County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia Bulldogs football players New York Giants players Pittsburgh Steelers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople